Building pounding state of the art: Identifying structures vulnerable to pounding damage

View/Open

Author

Date

Permanent Link

Due to recent legislation, the past three years has seen a radical increase in
the evaluation of potentially Earthquake Prone Buildings (EPBs) in New Zealand. Using
the Initial Evaluation Procedure (IEP), EPBs’ vulnerability to seismic pounding must be
assessed. Engineers currently have little knowledge of this highly specialised field. This
paper aims to assist engineers undertaking either preliminary or in depth assessment of
buildings with pounding potential. An international state of the art review is presented
with particular emphasis on the loadings caused by pounding. Floor-to-floor collisions are
identified as a fundamentally different process to floor-to-column collisions. Current
methods of building pounding assessment are reviewed, specifically assessing each
method’s applicability and weaknesses. Existing mitigation options are also evaluated in
terms of practical application to existing structures. Finally, critical building weaknesses
that are vulnerable to pounding are presented. It is intended that this paper will provide a
useful contextual background on pounding for all engineers using the IEP or higher order
analyses.